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38 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020<br />
Why we get population census wrong in Nigeria — Oshuntuyi<br />
By Adesina Wahab<br />
THE President, Mathematics<br />
for Life Foundation, Mr<br />
Omoniyi Oshuntuyi, has said<br />
Nigeria has been grappling with<br />
conducting credible population<br />
census because the exercise is not<br />
seen as a tool for national<br />
planning and development.<br />
By Glory Ojojo<br />
LAGOS State Governor, Mr<br />
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said<br />
education is a vital tool for economic<br />
emancipation and therefore should<br />
be taken seriously by all<br />
stakeholders, including the<br />
government.<br />
He said this in Ikeja during the<br />
Formal Launch and Graduation<br />
Ceremony of the Eko Excel Teachers<br />
Professional Development and<br />
Training Programme.<br />
The Eko Excel is aimed at training,<br />
supporting and motivating public<br />
school teachers to succeed as highly<br />
skilled professionals in their calling.<br />
Governor Sanwo-Olu said, “This<br />
multi investment in teachers<br />
capacity building seeks to reposition<br />
public education, improve the<br />
method of teaching to make it<br />
standard of the 21st Century and<br />
restore confidence in public school<br />
system.<br />
“We are committed to enabling<br />
Lagos State teachers to be more<br />
professional and technologically<br />
sound in the delivery of their work.<br />
At the end of this initiative, over<br />
14,000 public primary school<br />
teachers would have benefitted from<br />
the initiative and our belief is that<br />
this model will impact people<br />
positively all over our state.<br />
“The importance of this<br />
programme cannot be down played<br />
since well trained teachers will assist<br />
in the education and development<br />
of our future leaders and that we<br />
believe, will make them<br />
academically sound, financially<br />
Oshuntuyi stated this in Lagos<br />
during the Annual Mathematics<br />
Conference and Exhibition,<br />
AMCE, organised by the<br />
Foundation.<br />
The event had as theme “The<br />
Mathematics of census:<br />
Population, planning and national<br />
development.”<br />
According to him, mo realistic<br />
By Mary Obaebor<br />
HARD work, perseverance<br />
and commitment to<br />
study have been prescribed as<br />
prerequisites for outstanding<br />
academic performance.<br />
The Vice Chancellor of Tai<br />
Solarin University of Education,<br />
TASUED, Prof. Abayomi<br />
Arigbabu, stated this during the<br />
2019/2020 matriculation<br />
ceremony of the institution,<br />
where 6,715 new students took<br />
the Oath of Allegiance.<br />
The VC said that TASUED<br />
and credible population census<br />
had been conducted because the<br />
government and people only see it<br />
as an exercise for election and<br />
political gains rather than<br />
foreconomic and social<br />
development.“Population census<br />
should be held every 10 years, but<br />
in Nigeria, the last one we had was<br />
over 14 years ago. Then how do<br />
•From left, Guest speaker, Evangelist F. F. Ago; chairman of the occassion, Barr. Akin Adepoju; and proprietress<br />
of Great Omega Schools, Deaconess Bisi Adepoju, during the end of year party of the school<br />
•Students of Great Omega Schools, Ibeshe Ikorodu<br />
Education is tool for economic emancipation— Sanwo-Olu<br />
literate and be committed to serve<br />
as role models with an enterprise<br />
spirit needed for a sustainable and<br />
competitive national economy.”<br />
He therefore encouraged the<br />
graduands to redouble their efforts<br />
in order to justify government’s<br />
investment in the educational sector.<br />
He urged the teachers to show<br />
genuine love and concern for their<br />
pupils and care for them like their<br />
own real children so that the 7-8<br />
hours they would spend in class<br />
would be thier best time of the day.<br />
The Commissioner for Education,<br />
Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, said that<br />
Eko Excel would lead to a<br />
turnaround of the sector for the better<br />
in the state.<br />
“The reason why we identified the<br />
educational technology as a central<br />
pillar is because it is a detailed and<br />
we plan for the future? Census<br />
figures are not just meant for<br />
deciding statutory allocations to<br />
tiers of government or states, but<br />
the data obtained for planning<br />
adequately for the future.<br />
“Some would say the cost of<br />
conducting a census is huge, but<br />
we know that with the deployment<br />
of modern technology, the cost can<br />
be drastically reduced. Our<br />
Foundation has always been taken<br />
topical issues for academic<br />
digestion by experts and we are<br />
focusing on census this year<br />
because of what lack of acxurate<br />
data and planning are costing us<br />
as a nation,” he said.<br />
On how to make teaching and<br />
learning of Mathematics<br />
enjoyable, Oshuntuyi noted that<br />
the first step was to have well<br />
trained and motivated teachers of<br />
By Mary Obaebor<br />
THE Chairman, Governing<br />
Board of National Board for<br />
Technical Education, NBTE, Prof.<br />
Modupe Adelabu, has showered<br />
encomium on Yaba College of<br />
Technology, Yabatech, for moving to<br />
third position from its former seventh<br />
position in the latest polytechnic<br />
webometric ranking in Ngeria.<br />
Adelabu praised the<br />
administration of Engr. Obafemi<br />
Omokungbe, who within a year<br />
transformed the College into a<br />
peaceful and rancor free environment<br />
with stable academic calendar.<br />
The former deputy governor of Ekiti<br />
State who was in the College to<br />
inspect ongoing Tetfund projects,<br />
noted that if the College continued to<br />
maintain its peaceful academic<br />
stability it would move from no third<br />
the subject to make the subject<br />
attractive to students.<br />
Contributing, Prof. Mrs Olabisi<br />
Ugbebor, Mr Niyi Okuboyejo and<br />
Mr Oluwatosin Ilesanmi, said<br />
population count was only a partof<br />
what could be derived from a<br />
population census.<br />
They added that<br />
allocatingresources based on<br />
census figures had led to the<br />
manipulation of th exercise.<br />
They noted that GIS, socialmedia<br />
and other things could beused in<br />
conducting population census that<br />
would produce credible figures at<br />
lower cost.<br />
The experts added that Nigeria<br />
would continue to experience<br />
stunted economic growth when<br />
basic information about the<br />
nation’s demography were<br />
lacking. Merit awards were given<br />
to outstanding individuals and<br />
corporate bodies during the<br />
conference.<br />
NBTE board boss commends<br />
Yabatech over improved ranking<br />
important part of the development<br />
agenda of the state.<br />
“Education cannot wait, now is the<br />
time, we are part of the global<br />
technological revolution. I want us<br />
to know that it has been carefully<br />
thought through and it is not just<br />
about technology but about<br />
transforming practice, engaging<br />
learners, and coming out with<br />
excellent result for every child.”<br />
VC counsels students as TASUED matriculates 6,715<br />
CHIDINMA Umeh and<br />
Daniella Jumbo of Lora<br />
International School, Lagos<br />
have won this year’s Young<br />
Ministers Competition.<br />
The competition was<br />
organized to test the<br />
intelligence of Nigerian<br />
remained the most subscribed<br />
state university in the country<br />
with overwhelming number of<br />
applicants applying for limited<br />
admission space in the<br />
university before the lucky ones<br />
were admitted.<br />
Prof. Arigbabu, however,<br />
urged the new students to face<br />
their studies in order to attain<br />
great heights in their academics<br />
and compete favourably in the<br />
global market after graduation.<br />
He warned the matriculating<br />
students to shun all forms of<br />
Umeh, Jumbo win Young Ministers Competition<br />
students on how they know the<br />
country, as well as enlighten<br />
them on the functions, the<br />
organs and activities of<br />
government.<br />
It is also to teach them the<br />
histories of the country and<br />
guide the young ones who<br />
deviant behaviours, as the<br />
university had zero tolerance for<br />
all vices, coupled with stiff<br />
penalities for various offences.<br />
Prof. Arigbabu assured the<br />
students of maximum security,<br />
stable academic calendar and<br />
conducive learning<br />
environment, which he noted,<br />
had made the university tower<br />
higher than its contemporaries.<br />
The Vice Chancellor,<br />
thereafter, urged the new<br />
students to always contact the<br />
University Counselor when<br />
would become the leaders of<br />
the country in the future.<br />
Umeh took the overall first<br />
position under the Ministry of<br />
Finance and Jumbo took the<br />
overall second position under<br />
the Ministry of Culture and<br />
Tourism.<br />
position to being no one in no distant<br />
time.<br />
The NBTE Chairman opined that<br />
the College had produced<br />
personalities that were making waves<br />
both in Nigeria and abroad,<br />
especially in the accounting<br />
profession. She said this was<br />
possible due to the quality of staff in<br />
the College.<br />
Adelabu implored the College to<br />
invest more in skills development, up<br />
to the stage of exporting skills and<br />
not importing skills, likewise to invest<br />
more in technical education and in<br />
engineering, adding, “In fact,<br />
Yabatech should be the first point of<br />
call when looking for quality<br />
engineers.”<br />
Earlier in his welcome address,<br />
Omokungbe appreciated her for<br />
visiting the College to inspect Tetfund<br />
capital projects. He thanked Tetfund<br />
for its intervention in ongoing capital<br />
projects in the institution campuses<br />
at Yaba and Epe.<br />
Adelabu alongside Yabatech<br />
management team later inspected the<br />
construction of Comfort Station;<br />
classrooms, offices and highway<br />
laboratories, rehabilitation and<br />
refurbishment of Engineering Block,<br />
Construction of Lecture Theatre<br />
Building for School of Management<br />
and Business Studies SMBS, and<br />
construction of two-storey building<br />
for SMBS.<br />
necessary and to also avail<br />
themselves of maximum<br />
relaxation through sporting<br />
activities as well as engagement<br />
in religious activities.<br />
The Oath of Allegiance was,<br />
thereafter, administered by the<br />
University Acting Registrar, Mr.<br />
Tunde Oduwole.<br />
In the same vein, the National<br />
Alumni Association of the<br />
university has awarded a<br />
financial gift to the University<br />
Scholar who doubled as the<br />
Best Student in 100 level for<br />
2018/2019 academic session,<br />
Miss Elibe Patricia Ogadinma,<br />
who has a Cumulative GPA of<br />
4.88. The award was presented<br />
by the Alumni President, Mr.<br />
Abdullahi Oyekanmi.<br />
She is of the Department of<br />
Biology, in the College of<br />
Science and Information<br />
Technology of the university.